by Steve Ellner
Published in the Latin America Advisor, December 21, 2018
Publication of the Inter-American
Dialogue Washington DC
It
is not surprising that voices in Washington have expressed alarm over the
landing of two Russian bombers in Venezuela. But the statements of government
spokespeople and reporting in the mainstream media regarding the steps taken by
President Nicolás Maduro are largely one-sided. Like always, it is necessary to
contextualize in order to form an accurate opinion of what is taking place.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to “two corrupt
governments [Russia and Venezuela] squandering public funds while their people
suffer.” Along the same lines, media coverage of the incident underlined Venezuela’s
pressing economic conditions. All governments, however, regardless of the state
of their economy have the right to defend themselves.
For
many media commentators, Maduro sought to strengthen his position internally by
putting on display the support he counts on from powerful international allies.
Fear of a U.S. military response may be a more plausible explanation for his motives.
Indeed, President Trump’s threats of military intervention and implicit support
for a military coup in Venezuela are veritably without precedent in the history
of U.S. diplomacy.
Similarly, historical context is necessary to understand
why Venezuela became (in the words of Time Magazine) “a major buyer of Russian
military hardware,” which is another source of U.S. concern. The
embargo initiated by the government of George W. Bush on spare parts for the
U.S. built F-16 fighter jets made it inevitable that then president Hugo Chávez
would look elsewhere. The embargo led to the military partnership between
Venezuela and Russia beginning with the purchase of 24 Sukhoi planes in 2006.
The
presence of Russian bombers in Venezuela last week and the possibility of
future deployments are clear examples of the undesirable consequences of
Washington’s unyielding hostility toward that nation.
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